Week 26, Day 1 - [accidental video]

[destroyeroftime]

[ Allen sort of appears to have come out of nowhere, and materialized near a fountain. He looks around, confused. ]

This isn't where I meant to be! I meant to go back, not…where is this, anyway?

[ He looks around, and the golem following him sweeps down towards the recording device. The video shakes, and goes dark for a minute, as the golem picks

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[Reaction + Video]

[nec_metu]

[For several seconds that feel much longer, Lenalee can only stare at the screen. She knows that is Allen's face. She knows that is Allen's voice. She knows that is Timcanpy interfering with the video, and she knows that people suddenly appear in this place all the time. But she still doesn't believe it right away. It is a broadcasted dream that she is interpreting as real, or... something, anything, a projection of her own wants onto the network. She is afraid to think "Allen is back" with any certainty, least she prompt something to prove her wrong.]

[Lenalee watches the video again.]

[Her thoughts are a disorganized mess, overwhelmed by equally confusing emotions. Happy beyond her wildest dreams-- Allen is back, he is here with them again. Confused by his reaction. A little guilty-- it has been so long, she stopped believing that he would come back a while ago; before she had been honest enough with herself to know that she wanted him back here, not to go back home with him.]

[He doesn't remember anything, does he? True the world looks different right now, but he would still recognize it as Kannagara. A glance at his conversation with Break confirms it. That leads to a whole other host of conflicting emotions. So much had happened in the months that they were here together. It hurts knowing that he forgot all of it, for his sake (she knows that he didn't want to forget all of the people he knew here) as well as her own. In some ways, it is also... a relief. Lenalee feels terrible for that selfish thought, and another part of her doesn't want to bear the burden of those memories alone, but this is at least simpler. If he remembers nothing, then... they can go back to normal, can't they? With all that time spent trying to fix things between them, this is undeniably an easy pass. One with an extremely steep price, but she can at least appreciate the one bit of good with all of the bad.]

[Allen is still Allen, no matter what he does or doesn't remember. But there is still another problem to consider:]

[What time is he from? She doesn't think that he would appear so cheerful if it was anywhere near her own time. Her last memory of him is in prison garb as a fugitive, of being left behind in a forest even while begging him not to go. Lenalee knows that she has to go to him, now that she has the ability to, and despite everything she is completely happy to see him. But she has no idea if she is going to hug him or punch him first when she gets there.]

[With all of the thoughts swirling around, she has no idea what to tell him. But she should say something already.]

Allen, you're back.

[Video]

[destroyeroftime]

[ Allen looks surprised, at that. He'd just seen her, hadn't he? She was crying, when he left. And he couldn't blame her, but he still felt bad. He hadn't had a choice, but this wasn't where he'd meant to come.
She was probably going to yell at him, wasn't she?

If she pays enough attention, she'll notice that he is, in fact, still wearing the clothes he'd been wearing in that prison cell, and not his familiar Exorcist coat. ]

Lenalee...I...

I don't know if "back" is the right way to put it...

[ He forces a smile, but it doesn't hit his eyes. ]

[Video]

[nec_metu]

[It's hard to see more than just his face over the small screen now, but his expression makes her wonder. Another glance at the initial video and it will click.]

Maybe not.

[It feels like Allen is back to her, as it felt like getting back when she returned here after watching him leave at home. But if he has no memories of this place then he wouldn't know what she means. Lenalee can tell him that he was here before, for many months, but she isn't sure that she can explain exactly what this place came to mean to him. It was hard enough for her to understand it when he tried to explain.]

Where is it that you meant to go?

[Video]

[destroyeroftime]

[ He looks apologetic for a moment. ]

Just somewhere. I can't seem to get back, though, like the Ark won't listen or something.

Is this...what, exactly, is this place?

[Video]

[nec_metu]

Kannagara. The beings that rule this place have the power to bring people from different worlds and trap them here, while time also goes on normally for them at home. I've been here for... several months now. Lavi and Kanda are here too. You were here when I first arrived, but went back home a couple months ago. Sometimes when people come back here they remember everything, but sometimes they... don't.

It doesn't usually look like this-- something strange is going on. The scenery seems similar, but there are usually less people.

[She stops, waiting to see if he has any questions. It feels strange telling all of this to Allen, when he was the one that explained it to her in the first place. Of course, they knew far less about this world then. And it also feels strange because she has explained this all to countless newcomers, but this is Allen. It feels impersonal when there are so many other things she wants to say to him.]

I can come find you. We have a house-- ah, usually, but... things have changed, so I'm not sure if it's still there.

[Video]

[destroyeroftime]

Several months? But that...

[ He knows that can't be so. He just saw her moments before he mistakenly arrived here. He knew he got lost easily, but the Ark had never acted like that. Maybe...there's something to what she's saying, then? It's not as if Lenalee would ever lie to him. ]

What's going on? How does it usually look?

Were we really brought here by gods? That seems impossible!

[ He pauses, then frowns slightly. ]

I...don't know if it's a good idea for me to stay with you, right now.

[Video] 1/2

[nec_metu]

I wouldn't call them gods, but they are very powerful. Usually this place is a lot less busy-- there are a few villages scattered around, but no big cities like this. A lot of the native people here seem to be samurai, which is new.

[She tilts her Hitomi down to display the robes she is wearing, along with the katana at her side.]

Everyone that they brought here woke up like this. The ones in charge can change things about the world, and us, for short periods of time. But something this big is unusual.

[Video] 2/2

[nec_metu]

[That last suggestion earns him a bitter glare.]

If you're going to leave at home, you can at least stay with me here.

[Her clipped tone does little to disguise how much his words bother her. If there is one good thing about this place, it is the chance to be with people that she has lost at home. Why would he choose to stay away again? Of all the things she thought he might protest, staying together was not one of them, and it stings.]

[Video]

[destroyeroftime]

[ He doesn't know how to tell her that he doesn't want to risk hurting her. He knows that the state he's in is a little unstable. He can't hear Neah's voice all the time, but he hears it sometime. He had no intention of becoming a Noah or losing himself entirely. [

Oh, it's...it's not...

[ He shakes his head, a little bit, and is quiet for a minute. If they're not in danger here from anything else, he can be vigilant enough over his own body, can't he? ]

I didn't mean to upset you, Lenalee. Of course I'll stay with you.

[Video]

[nec_metu]

Good.

[Grumbled with an unsaid you had better. The urge to punch him is starting to outweigh the urge to embrace him. Always trying to do things on his own, even after all this time.]

I might have a hard time finding you here. Do you see anything nearby that sticks out?

[She had noted the fountain in the initial video, but it wasn't much to go on.]

[Video]

[destroyeroftime]

Um...it just looks like this is some sort of temple, honestly. I'm not familiar with the surroundings, so, I don't know how else to help you.

I can...try to find you?

[ Not that he'll be good at it! He gets lost when he DOES know where he's going... ]

[Video]

[nec_metu]

No! That's alright, I can find you.

[Lenalee is far too familiar with Allen's terrible sense of direction to endorse him wandering around on his own. At least she can get a bird's-eye view, if necessary.]

Just stay where you are.

[Video]

[destroyeroftime]

O-okay. I'll wait here, then.

[ After how mad she got at his suggestion, he doesn't want to do that again, so he's willing to just wait, if she wants. ]

[ooc: if you want to switch to action, feel free?]